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    • Hamas firm on terms as negotiators push for mini-deal – Israel News
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    Hamas firm on terms as negotiators push for mini-deal – Israel News

    Harry Posted on

    Hamas has stood firm on its terms for the hostage deal as negotiators push for a mini-deal that could set the framework for a full release of the hostage deal. remaining 101 captives.

    Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Tuesday that the group is open to discussing an agreement that would see an end to the war in Gaza and a full withdrawal of the Israeli army. This was Hamas’ consistent stance.

    “The movement confirmed that it is open to any agreement or idea that would end the suffering of our people in Gaza and ensure a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of occupation from the entire Gaza Strip,” Sami Abu Zuhri said in his televised speech. he said. Hamas was examining the mediators’ new offers. hostage and ceasefire agreement.

    Israel and the United States had hoped that the group would relax some of these conditions following the IDF’s assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar earlier this month. USA blamed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar because no agreement was reached.

    This week, talks were held in Doha with CIA Chief William Burns, Mossad Chief David Barnea and Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani about the possibility of a new agreement framework and the potential for a mini-deal that would build trust. -building size.

    Passengers walk next to photographs of Israelis held hostage at Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv in the Gaza Strip on October 8, 2024 (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

    Follow-up potential in Egypt

    Qatar and Egypt served as the main negotiators of the agreement, with assistance from the United States. Egypt has mentioned that the four hostages could be released in exchange for a 48-hour pause in the fighting. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel would accept such a deal if it were offered.

    The Doha talks and the potential for ongoing talks in Egypt were the first such talks held in two months and are seen as a confidence-building measure that could lead to a larger agreement.

    Axios news outlet reported that the ceasefire would last 28 days in exchange for eight hostages. A confirmed source told The Jerusalem Post that the proposal put forward by Barnea in Doha was “going in that direction.”

    By the end of August, hostage negotiations had focused on a three-stage agreement to release 101 captives; According to this agreement, 32 of them would be released in exchange for a six-week break in the war, and the rest would be released in 2013. advanced stages of the agreement.

    Hamas’ execution of six hostages, including Israeli-American captive Hirsch Goldberg-Polin, at the end of August put an end to these negotiations.

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    A senior US official said: Jerusalem Post He said negotiators had been largely inactive for the past two months. “Hamas took a very harsh stance and executed six hostages. The official said there were ongoing issues that needed to be resolved and Hama’s responses were not positive.

    “Then there was a period where there weren’t many answers,” the official said.

    “The question now is: How do you restart things at a time when the situation is evolving?” the official said. he said.

    It was useful that the official said that the ceasefire initiatives in Gaza and Hezbollah were separate.

    “You can now talk about how to handle things in the north,” the official said.

    The official said Sinwar’s death changed things for Hamas as well, adding that “it did not cause Hamas to say that it should actually surrender its weapons and release the hostages.”

    Going forward, it will be important to “establish an effective communication channel” between negotiators and Hamas, the official said, adding that a mini-deal could be a confidence-building measure that could pave the way for a larger agreement.

    The official recalled how four women, including two Americans, were released in late October, just a few weeks after the attack.

    The official compared renewed talks on a mini-deal to this confidence-building measure. “I would look at this first incident through that lens,” the official said.

    “We are looking for the 101 hostages to return home, those who lived to return to their families, those who did not attend a respectful funeral,” the official said.

    It is hoped that this initial agreement will pave the way to a larger agreement for everyone, but it is not yet clear what is the best way to bring everyone home.

    “There are very serious efforts to restart the process,” the official said.

    He explained that the phased May agreement was a formula that would release all prisoners. “It was a way to do it, given the differences between the parties and the situation on the ground,” the official said.

    “As the situation on the ground evolves, the goal will remain the same to get everyone out and achieve a ceasefire that can eventually lead to the reconstruction and development of a non-Hamas-led Gaza.

    “You have to start. And it’s about getting started,” the official said.



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